Digital payments and youth resilience in Nigeria earn continental acclaim
Marrakech, Jan. 29, 2026 – Usman Aliyu, Assistant Chief Correspondent at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), has won the 2025 FAAPA Award for Best Feature Article for his compelling report, “Swipe to Survive: How Digital Payments Tackle Youth Unemployment in Nigeria.”
The award was presented at the 9th General Assembly of the Federation of Atlantic African Press Agencies (FAAPA) in Morocco, where media leaders gathered to promote inclusion and spatial justice across Africa. Aliyu is the first anglophone journalist to win this prestigious continental honour.
His article explored how Nigerian youths are using digital payment platforms to create livelihoods and navigate economic hardship, earning praise for its human-interest angle and solutions-focused storytelling. Aliyu received the award alongside NAN Managing Director, Mallam Ali Mohammed Ali.
Other winners included Yacouba Soro of Ivory Coast for “Plastic Waste: from Pollutant to Development Lever” in the video category, and Guylain Kipoke Omba of Congo (Kinshasa) for a gripping photo story of a mother saving her child during floods. Each winner received a certificate, plaque, and $1,000 cash prize.
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